GEORGE FOX WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Overall 11-8: Home 3-4, Road 6-3, Neutral 2-1 / NWC 6-4: Home 2-3, Road 4-1
HIGHLIGHTS:
* Bruins Drop Homecoming Weekend Games by Two Points Each
* Clark's 17 Rebounds vs. Whitworth Best for a Bruin in 5+ Years
* GFU in NCAA, NWC Stats: Bruins 16th in the Nation in Free Throw Pct.
* Upcoming Previews: vs. Lewis & Clark, at Pacific
THIS WEEK (previews below):
Fri., Feb. 7, 6:00 pm - vs. Lewis & Clark College (7-12, NWC 2-8), Newberg, Ore.
Sat., Feb. 8, 6:00 pm - at Pacific University (5-12, NWC 2-8), Forest Grove, Ore.
LAST WEEK - 0-2:
Jan. 31 - Whitman 53, at George Fox 51
Feb. 1 - Whitworth 41, at George Fox 39
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE: George Fox (11-6, NWC 6-2) lost two nail-biters over the Homecoming weekend to slip to 4th in the NWC standings, and will aim for a good week vs. Lewis & Clark and Pacific to stay in the hunt for one of three NWC Tournament sports. For the latest NWC standings and stats, go to www.nwcsports.com.
COACH SCOTT RUECK (Oregon State '91) has a record of 126-49 (.720) through Feb. 6 in his 7th season as a head coach, all at George Fox. He notched his 100th career win last season when the Bruins defeated Northwest 78-68 on Dec. 1 in the PLU Parkland Chevrolet Classic in Tacoma, Wash. He was Northwest Conference "Coach of the Year" in 1999-2000 and "Co-Coach of the Year" in 2000-01. Against this week's opponents, he is 13-0 vs. Lewis & Clark (6-0 in Newberg, 7-0 in Portland), and 13-0 vs. Pacific (7-0 in Newberg, 6-0 in Forest Grove).
BRUIN BITS:
* Baron of the Boards:
Most basketball observers would probably not imagine Liz Clark as a "monster on the boards" at first glance, but the 5-8 sophomore wing from Elbe, Wash., leads the team in rebounding (7.6). In Saturday's Homecoming game vs. Whitworth, she turned in the highest rebounding total for a Bruin in over five years when she plundered the Pirates for 17 boards. The last time a George Fox player had 17 or more in a game was Dec. 28, 1997, when freshman Katie (Greller) Lacey had 17 against Rio Grande OH in a tournament in Daytona Beach, Fla.
* Double Trouble:
Darby Cave has 3 double-doubles in points and rebounds for the Bruins this season (14-12 at Albertson, 11/30; 18-11 vs. Rowan in the Surf 'n' Slam Tournament in San Diego, Calif., 12/27; and 18-12 at Whitman, 1/3) ... Liz Clark has 2 double-doubles in points and rebounds, in back-to-back games (15-10 vs. Pacific Lutheran, 1/18; 14-10 at Linfield, 1/21) ...
* Injury Report:
Jessica Baynes is out for the season after having knee surgery in December to repair a torn ACL ... Melissa Alexander is out indefinitely due to stress fractures in her legs. In her place, Heidi Collier, normally a wing, has been serving as a backup point guard behind Kim Leith ...
* Bruins in NCAA National Stats (thru Jan. 26):
In the latest NCAA Division III national statistics release, the George Fox Bruins as a team ranked 16th in free throw pct. (.743) ...
* Where Bruins Rank in NWC Stats (thru Jan. 26):
Scoring Offense - 4th (61.3)
Scoring Defense - 3rd (57.5)
Scoring Margin - 4th (+3.8)
Field Goal Pct. - 3rd (.401)
3-Pt FG Made - 3rd (4.37)
3-Pt FG Pct. - 4th (.306)
Free Throw Pct. - 2nd (.736)
FG Pct. Defense - 2nd (.358)
3-Pt FG Defense - 2nd (.263)
Rebound Offense - 1st (41.9)
Rebound Defense - 2nd (35.1)
Rebound Margin - 1st (+6.8)
Assists - 4th (13.79)
Turnover Margin - 9th (-3.16)
Assist/TO Ratio - 4th (0.71)
Steals - 8th (7.37)
Blocks - 3rd (3.05)
Kellie Thomas - 7th in scoring (12.0), 4th in FT% (.811), 10th in 3-pt FG% (.333), 5th in 3-pt FG (1.42), 11th in assists (2.42), 14th in steals (1.58), 11th in blocks (0.42)
Darby Cave - 11th in scoring (11.4), 7th in rebounds (6.4, T), 1st in FG% (.553), 8th in FT% (.760), 7th in blocks (0.63)
Kim Leith - 21st in scoring (9.2), 12th in 3-pt FG% (.323), 9th in 3-pt FG (1.11), 9th in assists (2.68), 12th in blocks (0.37, T)
Liz Clark - 23rd in scoring (8.6), 3rd in rebounds (7.6, T), 13th in 3-pt FG (1.00), 8th in 3-pt FG% (.365), 7th in steals (1.89)
Amy Fitch - 7th in assists (2.74, T), 12th in blocks (0.37, T)
Sarah Myhre - 17th in rebounds (5.3)
Emily Ruggles - 6th in blocks (0.68)
* Bruin Records This Season:
- Best Free Throw Pct., Team, Game - 1.000 (18-18) at Linfield, Jan. 21, 2003 (previous record was 4-4 vs. Western Baptist, Feb. 13, 1992)
* Bruin Honors This Season:
Lady 'Yote Classic All-Tournament Team - Liz Clark, Kim Leith
THIS WEEK (Previews):
Fri., Feb. 7, 6:00 pm - vs. Lewis & Clark College (7-12, NWC 2-8), Newberg, Ore.
Northwest Conference game .... The Pioneers are located in Portland, Ore. ... George Fox leads the all-time series with Lewis & Clark 38-7 ... The Bruins have won the last 17 games in a row, including a 65-51 win in Portland on Jan. 14 in which Kellie Thomas scored a career-high 20 points and Sarah Myhre had 10 rebounds ... Lewis & Clark's last win in the series was 87-61 on Feb. 15, 1994, in Portland ... The Pios are 8th in NWC scoring (58.4), 7th in defense (62.6), 9th in scoring margin (-4.2), 9th in FG% (.357), 6th in FT% (.649), 8th in 3-pt FG (3.47), 7th in rebounding margin (-2.1), 9th in assists (8.74), 4th in blocks (2.47), 4th in steals (10.79), 6th in turnover margin (+1.26) ... Tamika Hardy is 9th in NWC scoring (11.5), 11th in assists (2.58), 9th in steals (1.84) ... Nnenna Lewis is 20th in scoring (9.6), 7th in rebounds (6.4), 9th in FG% (.432), 4th in steals (2.26), 4th in blocked shots (1.00) ... Lindsay Tarr is 26th in scoring (8.2), 14th in rebounds (5.5), 5th in blocked shots (0.79) ... Krystle Mortimore is 7th in assists (2.74) ...
Sat., Feb. 8, 6:00 pm - vs. Pacific University (5-12, NWC 2-8), Forest Grove, Ore.
Northwest Conference game .... Pacific is located in Forest Grove, Ore. ... George Fox leads the series 23-22 and has won the last 13 in a row, including a 63-52 decision on Jan. 11 in Newberg in which Darby Cave scored 18 and Liz Clark had 15 rebounds ... Pacific's last win in the series was a 68-51 decision in Forest Grove in the NWC playoffs on Feb. 21, 1996, Sherrie Murrell's last game as the Bruins' coach ... Pacific is 5th in NWC scoring (59.1), 8th in defense 63.1), 8th in scoring margin (-4.1), 6th in FG% (.361), 7th in FT% (.630), 5th in 3-pt FG (3.94), 5th in rebounding margin (+0.9), 6th in assists (12.82), 7th in blocks (1.53), 5th in steals (10.06) ... Mary Lindburg is 16th in scoring (10.3), 20th in rebounds (4.8), 4th in FG% (.490) ... Tori Nelson is 22nd in scoring (8.7), 4th in 3-pt FG (1.76) ... Lauryn Jones in 12th in rebounds (5.8), 14th in FT% (.723) ... Katannya Kapeli is 20th in rebounds (4.8), 13th in assists (2.47), 12th in steals (1.76) ...